turn it off?

[nerdgirl]

Hello all,

Is it bad to shut down and unplug your computer when you are done using it every time?

Forgive me if this has been asked before (I think it has), but I couldn't find it.

Thanks in advance,
-ng

[Sixpac_XP]

Personally I would rather like to keep my machine running... I just turn off my monitor and speakers to save a little juice...

but if you have to make sure you shut the computer down properly first.

[inquisitive goat]

i heard leaving it in stand-by keep current running through your memory and other things, and greatly decreases the lifespan of them. i wouldn't worry about it though, just do whatever is convenient.

[bigblue77]

Its a matter of opinion really. Some shut down because it saves elec. and bearing wear on your machine.

I leave mine on 24/7 for several reasons.

1) It is always running UD think.
2)I believe it saves on wear as well because your disks and fans don't have to spin-up.
3) I am a firm believer in keeping things at a constant temp makes them last longer. No expansion and contraction of parts.

I guess there's pro's and con's to each. I probably haven't helped much, but I tried

Jer

[RampageIII]

That shouldn't be a problem. And a good idea if worried about unprotected power surges!

[CubKid]

I leave mine on all the time and it dosent seem to hurt it. Its been on about 90% if its life now, why shut it down now? I dont think theres a problem in shutting down and umplugging it, but dosent that defeat the purpose of a surge protector? If I unplugged my PC every time I was finished that wouldnt be too pleasant being its in a kinda hard place to get to.

[Agent_Embryo]

I shut mine down over night, as it is kinda hard for me to sleep with the noise from the fans(I have a one-roomer). During the day it's on. When I don't use it it's crunching UD with the monitor.

I've heard something like If you shut it down and start it up several times during the day...like once every two hours or so, the harddrives might sustain more stress than normally.

[bigblue77]

I guess the only real drawback would be that the CMOS battery would get drained faster with it unplugged(assuming your board has one).

I could be wrong, so feel free to correct me if I am.

Jer

[HomeYield]

I leave my on 24/7. I don't think I've shut my down for more than just a restart for over 4 months. Its been running rock solid for that whole time except for the occasional reboot when it doesn't like me.

Normally I don't worry about life expectancy as I'll probably upgrade before it goes bad (hopefully, knock on wood). But I do take care of it. Clean the dust out regularly, no food or drinks get too( ) close, and it stays relatively cool.

[OC Guy]

I leave mine on over night and all day if its a weekend, but if its a school day, then i leave it on overnight, then when i get up i cut it off. When i come home from school i cut it right back on again! (Its running the eccp client! )